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At the Build 2014 conference keynote in San Francisco, Microsoft’s Terry Myerson and Joe Belfiore have kicked off things by giving us more details about Windows 8.1 Update 1, and officially unveiling Windows Phone 8.1.

Windows Phone 8.1 will be available on new devices in late April and early May, and will roll out to some older, compatible devices. Windows 8.1 Update 1 will roll out on April 8.

Windows Phone 8.1

The first part of the keynote was focused on convincing developers that the Windows Phone ecosystem, with the release of Windows Phone 8.1 this spring and the securing of more OEM partners, is finally ready to kick ass. Most of the features that Belfiore ran through we already knew about from previous leaks — but we were treated to one cool new thing: Cortana!

Windows Phone 8.1 Cortana demo

You can ask Cortana to set some amazing reminders, such as “remind me to ask about her puppy”

Unlike Apple’s Siri, which is something of a black box that you merely talk to, Cortana is much closer to Google Now. Basically, Cortana (yes, that’s her name, much like Siri) sucks up as much information as you give it — including your contact list, your email, your searches, etc. — and then proceeds to act as an interactive, proactive digital assistant. You can also use Cortana like Siri, though, to set alarms, send messages, and so on.

You can also perform some very interesting contextual tasks, such as asking Cortana to remind you to ask someone about something the next time you talk to them — so, the next time you phone your mom, Cortana might remind you to ask her about her herb garden, or whatever. Cortana can also hook straight into third-party apps, such as Skype and Facebook.

Cortana looks very fast and very slick. We’ll be sure to update the post with our own hands-on impressions as soon as possible.

Windows Phone 8.1 notification tray

Belfiore showed off a cool new feature of Windows Phone 8.1, where apps can heavily customize the lock screen. The video demos made this new functionality look very cool indeed. We also got a closer look at the new notification tray — one of Windows Phone’s most-needed features.

According to Belfiore, the best (or at least his favorite) feature of Windows Phone 8.1 is the updated on-screen keyboard, which now allows for swipe/gesture input.He even showed a video that showed the new Windows Phone 8.1 keyboard earning the world record for the fastest smartphone input device.

Windows 8.1 Update 1

Belfiore also stayed on stage to demo some of the biggest changes in Windows 8.1 Update 1 — most notably, the ability to interact with Metro apps from the standard Desktop taskbar. The Windows Store app will also be pinned to the taskbar by default, so that Desktop users can more easily discover Metro apps.

Windows 8.1 Update 1, All Apps view showing recently installed apps

There still doesn’t seem to be a way to launch apps directly from the Windows Store after installation (why??) — but recently installed apps will now be highlighted on the All Apps screen, which is nice.

Hilariously, he noted that these Desktop-oriented changes (which many of us have asked for since the original Windows 8 beta two years ago) won’t impact Windows 8’s usability on touchscreen devices. Phew. Personally I’ve been using Windows 8.1 Update 1 for a couple of weeks (since the official update files leaked), and it’s definitely an improvement for Desktop use. (Read: How to install Windows 8.1 Update 1 right now.)

One of our writers, David Cardinal, is at the Build conference — so stay tuned for updates over the next few days. We should be seeing a lot of information about Windows Phone 8.1, Xbox, its new Windows on Devices push, and lots of other smaller products.

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dc

dozens of people are excited about this.

chojin999

So just a few people. The rest of the world doesn’t care about the Microsoft ModernUI/Metro crap and the whole Windows8.x nonsense.

dc

Well you can’t forget the people who made the product, not to mention their immediate family who don’t want them to get laid off. Wives, stay at home husbands, children, pets. I bet there are more than a couple black labs who are very supportive of this product.

bheron

literally dozens. ;)

dc

dozens of people are excited about this.

Phobos

Isn’t he the lead singer of journey?

Phobos

Isn’t he the lead singer of journey?

Antoine Talbot

I’ve just watched the Build livestream and must admit Cortana seems like a very promising assistant. I very like the fact that you gain acces to “her personnal notebok”. Makes much sense to be able to control what she knows and what she should know about you.

Ray C

I like what I’ve seen

James

Really? I’m pretty sure that when we asked for these features over the years,
you and MS spent your time telling us how terrible this is, and that we
should do things your shitty way.

SpideyBry

Can’t wait for the Cortana update for my Windows phone. I came close to dropping Windows phone for Android at one point but I did not want to give up the Metro interface and live tiles. I’m also subscribed to Xbox music (formerly Zune) and would have had to give that up. I’m still happy that I stayed with Windows phone.

I wonder how many Halo fans will give Windows phone a try because of Cortana?

AdamWL

There is a Windows Music App for Android.

irwincur

If metro works anywhere, it works on the phone interface. I love my windows phone, using my nexus 7 feels dated, static, and slow in comparison.

Ian

Anybody who thinks windows phones are inferior doesn’t have a windows phone. This is great news.

Andrew Sands

Anduds and Icon phones.

crescentdave

I remember when BB, MS, Palm and a gaggle of pundits dismissed Apple’s iPhone, because it wasn’t designed for business, it had zero customer base, it didn’t adhere to “standards-” in short, anything to minimize the impact of the phone. See: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2009/12/01/the-great-iphone-death-watch/ for a collection of judgments made by “people in the know.” All wrong.

Because of it’s dominant, installed computer base, MS was incredibly short-sighted when it came to developing an easily understood UI. It had absolutely no inkling of what an “app store” would do in terms of cementing a customer-corporation relationship. It didn’t understand the role of carrier-subsidized phones- it always talked about how expensive the iphone was.

If MS is willing to play the “long game,” it will have a legitimate shot at being a contender in the smart phone market, as opposed to an outlier. It’s hardware is becoming more and more competitive, it’s paying more attention to it’s dearth of apps, it’s arguably the most sophisticated, functional UI on the market and it’s committed to tying its phone into its other resources- it’s tablets, xbox, computers and onedrive.

It’s only too late if MS is willing to pull the plug in a year or two. It has to go all in on it’s commitment to marketing and supporting the product, not just the development of the product.

navin

Can we have an update for USB connecting or USB support for our windows 8 phone…

Sheldon Cooper

I love Windows 8.1 and look forward to the update. Windows 8 is do easy to use right now and keeps getting better with each upgrade. Thanks Microsoft. Thanks PC Mag for your positive report on Microsoft. (LOL) We know how much you love Microsoft. (Yea Right)

Rob

Why does it take them so long to release the windows 8.1 update for cellphone????

Renu Bisht

Windows Phone is now attracting the users and i am impressed by the new features of Windows phone 8.1, really nice.

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